Minsk spoils Kuznetsov’s return. October 10 round-up

Evgeny Kuznetsov was back in action for SKA, but despite scoring on Dinamo Minsk he could not save his team from a 2-4 loss. CSKA lost out to Avtomobilist in a shoot-out as the Motormen drew level with Eastern Conference leader Traktor. Defending champion Metallurg lost out 4-5 at home to Torpedo, and Salavat Yulaev hit five on the road at Spartak. Barys edged a 1-0 verdict over Avangard, snapping a five-game losing streak and Vityaz moved into the Western playoff places with an OT win over Sochi.

Kazakhs snap five-game skid

Barys Astana 1 Avangard Omsk 0 (1-0, 0-0, 0-0)

Both of these teams have had disappointing starts to the season. Avangard came to rock-bottom Barys lying outside the Eastern playoff spots, but hopeful of a repeat a comfortable home win over the Kazakhs five days earlier.

Back in Astana, Vyacheslav Butsayev made changes. On defense, Viktor Antipin returned to action and Alex Grant played his first game since rejoining the club. More surprisingly, Wade Allison was back in the team despite recently being placed on waivers. Avangard stuck with broadly the same team that won 4-0 in Omsk.

The early exchanges suggested a repeat of that success. Barys could barely get out of its zone in the opening minutes and Alexander Yaremchuk was close to putting the Hawks ahead when he got a solo break. Nikita Boyarkin performed wonders to keep his goal intact, backed up by some solid home defense.

After weathering that storm, Barys almost opened the scoring with its first meaningful shot on goal. Avangard survived that scare but fell behind when Daniil Apalkov cleverly redirected Nathan Beaulieu’s point shot. After getting in front, the home team had the better of the remaining five minutes before the intermission.

In the second period, the game was more even. Barys looked every bit the equal of its visitor and there were good chances for Vladislav Kodola and Kirill Panyukov to increase the lead. The latter attempt was stopped only by a big intervention from defenseman Damir Sharipzyanov.

Although Avangard upped its attacking intensity, there was rarely a sense that the Hawks were ready to step up a gear and chase the game hard. Midway through the third period Barys center Mike McLeod picked up an unlikely penalty for a faceoff violation, but even that chance did not really lift the visitor’s game. In the end, Barys had a fairly straightforward finish to close out the win. The home team snapped its five-game skid while Avangard missed a chance to climb back into the top eight.

Torpedo holds on for sixth straight win

Metallurg Magnitogorsk 4 Torpedo Nizhny Novgorod 5 (1-3, 1-2, 2-0)

Both teams came into this one in good form. Metallurg was on a four-game winning streak, and Torpedo had gone one better following a 4-0 win over Kunlun on Monday. Both teams were also in good scoring form, and that continued in Thursday’s game. Torpedo built a 5-2 lead, but Metallurg battled back hard before falling to a 4-5 loss.

Torpedo had a good start and opened the scoring in the second minute. Mikhail Abramov’s shot did not look all that testing, but Alexander Smolin was distracted by team-mate Robin Press and lost track of the puck. That was followed by a cheap power play for the visitor as Magnitka struggled to get into the game.

A home PP was also ineffective and as Artyom Misnikov came out of the box he was presented with the chance to score his first KHL goal in the 11th minute. That doubled Torpedo’s lead and chased Smolin from the net. Almost immediately, Pavel Akolzin pulled a goal back but it wasn’t long before Ilya Nabokov was beaten for the first time when Nikita Artamonov kept up his good recent form.

Down by two, Metallurg came out in the second period and sought to dictate the play. Danila Palivko and Nikita Mikhailis both saw shots hit the post, another power play came and went but there was no change on the scoreboard. Then Torpedo extended its lead when Vladislav Firstov turned a Markus Phillips effort past Nabokov. Igor Geraskin soon got a second for Metallurg, but the middle frame ended with Maxim Letunov scoring on a delayed penalty to give the visitor a 5-2 lead.

The previous game in Magnitogorsk saw the home team score four goals in the third period to defeat Dynamo Moscow. Today, two goals early in the final stanza suggested that a repeat might be possible. Dmitry Moiseyev and Vladislav Yeryomenko reduced the deficit to a single tally with 15 minutes to play. Eight of those 15 minutes saw Metallurg with a man advantage, but Torpedo defended heroically to preserve their lead. Late on, there was a chance for Dmitry Breus to make the game safe, but he fired against the bar. Nonetheless, Torpedo held on to extend its winning streak to six games.

Barach’s double puts Vityaz into top eight

HC Sochi 2 Vityaz Moscow Region 3 OT (0-2, 2-0, 0-0, 0-1)

These teams met for the second time in three days, and once again Vityaz came out on top. After Tuesday’s 4-2 win, the visitor recorded a 3-2 scoreline in overtime. Victory moves Pavel Desyatkov’s team into the playoff places at the expense of Dynamo Moscow.

Vityaz did its damage early in the game. Inside four minutes, Ivan Chekhovich set up Derek Barach for the opening goal. That helper maintained Checkhovich’s point-a-game run since he joined Vityaz from Lokomotiv and soon he added another point to his tally with an assist as Dmitry Buchelnikov doubled the lead. Buchelnikov also scored in the previous game.

However, Sochi responded well in the second period, dominating the play and pushing the visitor back into its zone. Captain Kirill Rasskazov claimed the reward, pulling one back midway through the game. That goal came seconds after Vityaz killed a penalty; the next home power play saw Sergei Popov tie the scores in the 36th minute.

After that, both teams played disciplined hockey. There were no further penalties, and no further goals in regulation. However, in overtime Vityaz found a way through: Barach potted the winner and Chekhovich claimed his third helper as the visitor made it back-to-back wins by the Black Sea.

Leivo leads the way for Ufa

Spartak Moscow 2 Salavat Yulaev Ufa 5 (1-1, 0-2, 1-2)

Silenced at CSKA on Tuesday, Salavat Yulaev’s offense got back to business in some style at Spartak. Josh Leivo led the way with two goals after his 16-game hot streak was interrupted last time out as Viktor Kozlov’s team bounced back after two losses.

Leivo, who had scored in every game this season prior to Tuesday, wasted no time getting back on the scoresheet. He opened the scoring in the second minute here, decisively finishing an odd-man rush. However, Spartak responded almost immediately when Mikhail Maltsev cut out Grigory Panin’s pass and advanced to score on Alexander Samonov.

After that, things calmed down a little and the game remained deadlocked at the first intermission. Indeed, the teams were tied until late in the second period – but then Ufa struck twice in little over a minute. Denis Yan restored his team’s lead with his first goal since arriving from Torpedo. Then Alexander Chmelevski made it 3-1 to put the visitor in control at the second break.

Early in the final frame, Leivo got his second of the night. The Canadian saw a Danil Alalykin feed bounce off his skate and into the net to make it 4-1. That effectively ended the game, but there was still time for Chmelevski to get his second of the game and Andrei Loktionov to pot a late consolation goal for Spartak.

Macek shoots down CSKA

CSKA Moscow 3 Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg 4 SO (1-1, 1-1, 1-1, 0-0, 0-1)

Avtomobilist moves level with Traktor at the top of the Eastern Conference after edging a shoot-out verdict in Moscow. The Motormen go to 20 points thanks to Brooks Macek’s winner. CSKA is now third in the west, level with Spartak on 18 points but six behind leader Lokomotiv.

This game was nip-and-tuck throughout. Both teams got in front at different stages, but neither managed to build more than a one-goal lead. CSKA opened the scoring in the ninth minute after forcing a turnover and launching a quick counter. Ivan Drozdov burst down the right and his shot deflected off Ruslan Iskhakov and crept through Vladimir Galkin’s pads and into the net. Late in the frame, a rather unnecessary foul by Pavel Karnaukhov gave Avtomobilist a way back into the game and Brooks Macek produced a trademark shot to tie the game.

That inspired the visitor to seize control of the play at the start of the second period. CSKA still had not mustered a shot at Galkin when Yury Zhuravlyov put the Motormen 2-1 up in the 25th minute. Gradually, the home team got back into it and Nikita Nesterov converted the Muscovites’ first power play to tie the scores midway through the session.

It was a similar story in the third period. Drozdov’s power play goal restored CSKA’s lead, but Anatoly Golyshev tied it up for a third time in the 54th minute. After so much open play earlier in the game, both teams took a more cautious approach in the closing stages and the game moved into overtime.

The extras also produced nothing, but in the shoot-out Macek potted the decider with the 10th attempt of the opening round.

Kuznetsov’s return can’t save SKA

SKA St. Petersburg 2 Dinamo Minsk 4 (0-1, 0-2, 2-1)

Evgeny Kuznetsov made a goalscoring return from injury, but SKA’s big-name summer signing could not inspire his team to victory. Instead, it was Dinamo Minsk’s returning star, Vadim Shipachyov, who left with a goal and a win as the Belarusians snapped a three-game skid.

Dinamo was the more assertive team from the start. The visitor had the better of the first period, enjoying greater puck possession, forcing three penalties and scoring the only goal of the session. That came midway through when Artemy Pleshkov failed to hold onto Rob Hamilton’s blast. The puck dropped for Nicholas Meloche and he stuffed it home. SKA challenged the play but a review found no evidence of interference on Pleshkov and the home side took a delay of game penalty.

Although Dinamo was on top in the opening frame, SKA at least created some chances on the counter. In the second period, there was almost nothing from the home team. Dinamo outshot its host 20-1 and extended its lead to 3-0. Midway through the session, Pleshkov went behind his net to retrieve the puck but was undone by an unexpected bounce that presented Ilya Usov with an open goal. Then, late in the frame, Vadim Shipachyov celebrated his return to the team with a power play goal against one of his former clubs. Moments later, Sergei Kuznetsov missed a glorious chance to make it four, firing against the post from two meters out with the goal at his mercy. At the intermission, Pleshkov made way for Yegor Zavragin in the home net; the incoming goalie made an early debut after joining SKA from Sochi yesterday.

When Evgeny Kuznetsov struck on the power play early in the third, home fans hoped that his Belarusian namesake might rue that miss. Evgeny applied the decisive touch to an Alexander Nikishin shot, serving notice that SKA was very much in this game despite the scoreline.

However, the home team could not build on that foundation. Instead, chances came at both ends and the next goal went to Ilya Usov, making it 4-1 for the visitor. On the SKA bench, Roman Rotenberg decided to go for it: eight minutes left, teams at equal strength, he called Zavragin to the sidelines and went with an extra skater.

The gamble pushed Minsk into penalty trouble and Nikishin made it 2-4 during a five-on-three power play. Even with four men, Dinamo struggled. Kuznetsov danced past two defensemen but couldn’t beat Andrei Tikhomirov, then Nikishin hit the post before the visitor got back to full strength. With five skaters once more, Minsk was able to close out the win and avenge a 3-0 loss to SKA on home ice a week earlier.